Sunday, December 13, 2015

But....Then....

Our God is a beautiful, gracious and good Father - ALWAYS desiring for us to receive his bountiful mercy, grace, and forgiveness! He loves us so much that He has given us guidelines to live by that are for our best interest. Unfortunately, some of us don't understand and fully believe the goodness of God, so we choose to ignore those guidelines. When we turn to our own ways, there are some serious consequences that affect our well being, our cities well being, our states well being and our nations well being. 

BUT because of His character that is perfect in love, He provides a way that we can return to Him. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Our Part

1)Humble ourselves by admitting our sins
2) Pray to God asking for forgiveness
3)Seek God continually
4)Turn from sinful behavior 

God's Part

1) Hear our prayers
2) Forgive our sins
3) Heal our land

Whether we sin individually, as a group, or a nation, by turning to God with true repentance, God will answer our earnest prayers. 

One of the many ways that we can clearly see the goodness and love of God for us is in Galatians 1:4, "BUT when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son! 

When we are in Christ, we can come boldly to the throne of grace, to receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:15)

Because of Jesus Christ, we are without excuse for He has given us every heavenly blessing to live a godly and holy life! (Ephesians 1:3-5)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness! 2 Peter 1:3

If you have not received Christ as your Savior and Lord, you can receive Christ right now by faith though prayer. God knows your heart, and He is not as concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here is a suggested prayer that you can pray:

     Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank you of dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to You and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the person You want me to be! 

On the basis of His promise to us in His word, you can be confident that Christ lives in you and that you have eternal life from the very moment you invite Him in!

One of my greatest blessings in life, is having a personal relationship with the best Father anyone could ever dream of having!



Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Descends From Above

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom."  James 3:13

There is wisdom and then there is WISDOM! The Bible says that there are two types of wisdom – the wisdom from this earth and the wisdom that descends from above!

The wisdom that is from this earth is:

-       Filled with bitter envy
-       Self-seeking
-       Earthly
-       Sensual
-       Demonic
-       Filled with confusion and every evil thing

The wisdom from God is:

-       Pure
-       Peaceable
-       Gentle
-       Willing to yield
-       Full of mercy
-       Good Fruit
-       Without partiality
-       Without hypocrisy

Which type of wisdom would you prefer?

How do you get the wisdom from above?

The answer is simpler than you think! The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

What exhortation does the Bible give us when we ask for wisdom?

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is double-minded, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6-8

“Godly wisdom is pure, meaning “free from defilement.” Bitterness, envy, and selfish behavior thoroughly corrupts a person. Godly wisdom is also peaceable, describing a spirit of tranquility and calmness. It does not suggest compromising truth just for the sake of peace, which would promote falsehood. In addition, godly wisdom is undivided, without favorites, unwavering and consistent. True wisdom is sincere and unpretentious.” Commentary

“Evil produces confusion. Anyone who is involved in envy and strife is confused.” Commentary

Let’s resist the wisdom from this earth and ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, the wisdom that is from above! Let's be peacemakers who sow in peace and who will reap a harvest of righteousness!

“...if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exists, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:14-18



Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Believe It Or Not!


“And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14b

I love reading the Bible from cover to cover. It may take over one year to do so, but what a grand picture of God’s love for us and His sovereignty when we read the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation - systematically.

This morning, I opened up the Bible and began the book of Esther - talk about a love story! My heart was captivated as I saw the providence of God!

“The book of Esther is an example of God’s divine guidance and care over our lives. God’s sovereignty and power are seen throughout this book. Although we may question certain circumstances in our lives, we must have faith that God is in control, working through both the pleasant and difficult times so that we can serve Him effectively.” Commentary

What caught my eye in just the first two chapters of the book of Esther is the favor that God placed upon Esther’s life! Here are three examples:

(1) “Now the young woman pleased him, and she obtained his favor; so he readily gave beauty preparations to her, besides her allowance. Then seven choice maidservants were provided for her from the king’s palace, and he moved her and her maidservants to the best place in the house of the women.” Esther 2:9

(2) “And Esther obtained favor in the sight of all who saw her.” Esther 2:15b

(3) “The king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.” Esther 2:17

When man initiates his favor upon you, it is usually for personal gain, but when God places His favor upon you, it is so that many may be blessed! God allowed Esther to have favor so that the royal crown would be placed upon her head. That crown was not just to make Esther look more beautiful, NO; it was for a divine purpose of being placed in a position in order to save the Jewish people from complete destruction!

“God placed Esther on the throne even before the Jews faced the possibility of complete destruction (3:5), so that when trouble came, a person would already be in the position to help. No human effort could thwart God’s plan to send the Messiah to earth as a Jew. If you are changing jobs, position, or location and can’t see God’s purpose in your situation, understand that God is in control, He may be placing you in a position so you can help when the need arises.” Commentary

Believe it or not, God has placed you right where you are for a bigger purpose! You are being prepared to bless many!  Don’t be discouraged if you can not see God’s purpose in your situation, instead understand that God is in control and is positioning you to be used mightily by Him in His time.

God is sitting at the circle of the universe directing the affairs of your life with wise benevolence! Let’s be encouraged as we read the stories in the Bible of men and women who were courageously offering their lives for God’s purposes and glory!



Thursday, February 5, 2015

self-LESS


I came across a beautiful encouragement that is a must read written by Charles R. Swindoll.  See below:

SELFlessNESS 

“Douglas Southhall Freeman ends his four-volume work on Robert E. Lee with a touching scene. General Lee was wrinkled and gray and stooped over-very close to death-when a young mother came to see him with her infant cradled in her arms. When Lee reached out for her baby, she responded by placing the infant in Lee’s still-strong arms. The great general looked deeply into the child’s eyes and then slowly turned to the mother and said, “Teach him he must deny himself.”

The path to greatness in the kingdom of God will lead you through the valley of selflessness. Christlike humility will emerge on its own.” 

I could only imagine what the general was thinking when he looked deeply into the child's eyes...he must have quickly relived all of his life experiences. Perhaps all of his successes and all of his failures he accounted to when he either denied himself or when he did not deny himself. Perhaps what motivated this general's advice was remembering the pain from his failures. Nevertheless, whichever the case, at the end of this great general's life, this pearl came from his heart, “Teach him he must deny himself.”

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.” Luke 9:23-24



Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Are You In Hot Water?

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft and mushy. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hardened egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its deep flavor and inhaled its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin, outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?", she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong? But with pain and adversity, do I wilt and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water - the very circumstance that brings the adversity, the pain, and the hardship – into something quite wonderful. When the water gets hot, it releases its fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better, and change the situation around you for the better.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN? 


-Author Unknown

I heard this story told almost ten years ago when one of my daughters graduated from Junior High. I was able to find it on the internet and I thought about the story when I was reading about King Asa in 2 Chronicles. For the first thirty-six years of his reign, Asa relied on the LORD and he was blessed mightily. But in spite of the apparent success of Asa’s thirty-six years of reign,in his later years, he stopped relying on God and started handling things his way. A prophet named Hanani came to Asa with a rebuke from the LORD. This was his reaction to God’s rebuke in 2 Chronicles 16:10, “Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.” 

Unfortunately, in the last five years of Asa reign, his heart became hardened and he did not rely on the LORD as he did earlier. Five years later, Asa died with a hardened heart.

Now let’s compare King David’s reaction to God’s Word when a prophet from the LORD comes to rebuke him for sins that he had committed. 

“So David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD.” 2 Samuel 12:13

Immediately after being confronted and convicted by the prophet's words from God, David's heart becomes tender and humble! God accepted David's confession and extended divine forgiveness!

What a big difference between King Asa and King David! One heart becomes hardened, angry and bitter and the other heart becomes more beautiful!

"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him." 2 Chronicles 16:9